德州 Dallas 高地公园联合卫理公会考虑脱离宗派：去留将交会众投票，诉讼仍在审理
美国德克萨斯州 Dallas 的高地公园联合卫理公会（Highland Park United Methodist Church）正在考虑是否脱离联合卫理公会（UMC）。该教会10月11日举行会众大会，约800人出席，讨论在与所属年议会持续的法律诉讼背景下，教会的去留应由会众投票决定。
据《基督教邮报》（The Christian Post）10月14日报道，这场诉讼源于教会治理文件的修改：联合卫理公会 Horizon Texas Conference 于今年8月在 Dallas 县地区法院起诉该教会，指其2022年11月提交的修订版设立证书删除了文件中所有提及联合卫理公会、年议会与《教规》的内容，并称教会此举形同单方面切断与宗派的联系。高地公园联合卫理公会今年9月提交答辩与反诉，主张2022年的修改符合德州法律，并请求法院驳回诉讼；教会同时表示，修改后教会一直完整参与联合卫理公会事务，包括按年向年议会缴纳分摊款项。
在10月11日的会众大会上，教会理事会主席 Caroline Nowlin 表示，理事会尚未就去留作出决定，并强调如理事会建议脱离，最终将交由会众投票，「你们的投票将决定教会的未来」。主持会议的理事会成员 David McAtee 表示，争议集中在两点：教会在遴选牧者上的发言权，以及会众投票后教会是否有权离开宗派。
年议会会督 Ruben Saenz Jr. 在会后发表的牧函中表示，他的关切始终在于治理、而非该教会的信仰与事工，年议会寻求的是恢复2022年之前的治理安排。高地公园联合卫理公会主任牧师 Matt Tuggle 与两位前任主任牧师则在会前声明中表示，该教会的治理架构自1998年经年议会知情下确立，2022年的章程修改是让教会在7600多间联合卫理公会教会相继离开时选择留在宗派之内。
高地公园联合卫理公会创立于1916年，是 Horizon Texas Conference 内最大的教会。据联合卫理公会官方数据平台 UMData，该教会2024年有宣誓会友约1.5万人，每周平均敬拜出席人数超过4000人，全年收入超过2200万美元。诉讼目前仍在审理中，教会尚未就是否举行脱离投票作出决定。
Dallas Megachurch Highland Park UMC Weighs Leaving Denomination: Decision to Go to Congregational Vote as Lawsuit Continues
Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, is considering whether to leave the United Methodist Church (UMC). The church held a town hall meeting on October 11, attended by about 800 people, to discuss the question against the backdrop of an ongoing lawsuit with its annual conference, with church leaders saying any decision to leave would be put to a congregational vote.
According to The Christian Post's report on October 14, the lawsuit stems from changes to the church's governing documents. The UMC's Horizon Texas Conference sued the church in Dallas County District Court in August, alleging that a restated certificate of formation filed in November 2022 removed all references to the United Methodist Church, the conference and the UMC Book of Discipline from its governing documents, in what the suit describes as an apparent attempt to unilaterally sever ties with the denomination. Highland Park filed a response and counterclaim in September, arguing that the 2022 changes were valid under Texas law and asking the court to dismiss the suit; the church also said it has continued to participate fully in the UMC since the changes, including paying its annual apportionments to the conference.
At the October 11 town hall, church council chair Caroline Nowlin said the council has not decided whether the church should remain in the UMC, and stressed that if the council recommends severing ties, the decision would come to a congregational vote: "Your vote will determine our church's future." Council member David McAtee, who moderated the meeting, said the dispute comes down to two issues: the church's say in selecting its clergy, and whether the church has the right to leave the denomination if its membership votes to do so.
In a pastoral letter after the meeting, Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said his concern has always been about governance, never about Highland Park's faith, ministry or people, and that the conference is asking the church to restore the governance in place before 2022. In a statement issued before the town hall, Highland Park senior minister Matt Tuggle and two former senior ministers said the church's governance structure was ratified in 1998 with the conference's knowledge, and that the 2022 bylaws kept the church within the denomination at a time when more than 7,600 United Methodist churches left.
Founded in 1916, Highland Park United Methodist Church is the largest congregation in the Horizon Texas Conference. According to UMData, the UMC's official data platform, the church had about 15,000 professing members in 2024, average weekly worship attendance of more than 4,000, and total income of more than $22 million. The lawsuit remains pending, and the church has not yet decided whether to hold a vote on leaving the denomination.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于美国德克萨斯州 Dallas 的高地公园联合卫理公会教堂，1927年落成时的历史照片。图片来源：SMU Central University Libraries，无版权限制，经维基共享资源发布。Photo: Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, United States, in a historic photograph taken when the church building was completed in 1927. Source: SMU Central University Libraries, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.
